Majdalani, Foster earn several recognitions at national propulsion conference

Joseph Majdalani, Auburn Alumni Engineering Council endowed professor and department chair of aerospace engineering, authored 12 papers this year for the Journal of Physics Conference and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Joint Propulsion Conference.

Majdalani presented seven of these papers at the Joint Propulsion Conference held in Cleveland, Ohio, where two of his papers were selected as “Best Papers” of their sessions.  Roy Hartfield and Butch Foster, both professors in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, also participated in the conference. Hartfield presented a paper on turbine blade aerothermal optimization using evolution strategies, and Foster presented a paper on the Monte Carlo simulation of the thrust imbalance for NASA’s Space Launch System that claimed the “Best Paper” in its competitive session.

During the event, Majdalani was named chair of the Hybrid Rockets Technical Committee starting next year and vice chair of the Awards Committee for the Solid Rockets Technical Committee.  In addition, he was appointed to the Propulsion and Energy Foundation Level Award and Honors Committee.

At the conclusion of the conference, Majdalani presented a two-day short course at the national level titled “Hybrid Rocket Propulsion,” and he was also invited to teach the same course to industry and academic professionals in Germany and Japan.

“We had a strong showing at this year’s conference,” Majdalani said.  “Our research and authored papers continue to be recognized at a national level for which I am extremely proud. My goal as a department chair is to continue growing our efforts at maintaining our position as an elite leader in the aerospace research industry.”